Until each breath was a “wash cycle” (as Meghan Currie says), washing away the dirt from months ago. Finally, the breath/washing machine left me with an intention:

Meet yourself where you are and meet others where they are. Nothing more, nothing less.

Namaste.

The week started off with a burst of excitement. I was curious to see where yoga would lead me both physically and mentally. Boy was I in for an emotional ride!

I didn’t want to practice alone so I started my challenge with Adriene on YouTube (Yoga With Adriene). I practiced along her for the first two days. Having someone guide me through a practice felt amazing. And it didn’t matter how long the practice was as long as it felt right to me.

On day three, I woke up with a particular feeling. I woke up missing.

The feeling of missing someone is no stranger to me. For the majority of my life, I lived oceans apart from the people that matter to me the most. It hurt a lot to be apart and I built a wall of individuality around me to cope. If I could do everything on my own, I wouldn’t need anyone. I wouldn’t miss anyone.

And, that was just bull sh*t by the way.

On day three, I woke up missing because I remembered experiences that felt so sweet that I just wished them to happen again. The pain that I was feeling that morning was just a mirror image of the love that I tasted not too long ago. Instead of recoiling back into my shell, I took the pain as a sign to feel deeper into my heart.

I thought, “what’s so bad about missing something/somewhere/someone?” I’ve associated missing with all things negative. But now I realize that I never turned it around and thought about what I remember.

Remembering is honoring. It’s taking a step back to see the big picture. It’s putting the pieces together to create more fully and to love more generously and courageously.

I practiced on my own that day. My body shape shifted into a lot of back bends as I treated myself to a delicious vinyasa. I finally heard to call of my lion heart.

Towards the end of the week, my practice asked for more depth, presence and openness:

leaning more into my back body

taking more mindful breaths

allowing emotions to be felt

witnessing pain

embodying joy

The challenge was to honor the complexity of each and every day. I made an intention to ride the emotional rhythm of each day however it synchronized with the heart, body and mind.